Friday, June 13, 2008

Tribute to Tim Russert

Eight years ago, I was up in New Hampshire for about a week volunteering for the Bill Bradley for President campaign. Working some media for the campaign, I found myself at a local TV station, where I ran in to an old political comedian friend of mine, Will Durst.

Will invited me to attend a big bash being hosted by the fine folks of Comedy Central being held at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Manchester. There, I ran in to many Democratic politicos I knew from around the country, as well as fellow comedian Jon Stewart [who had recently graduated from the comedy club circuit, and inherited The Daily Show]. This was a room filled with about a thousand people, eating, drinking and schmoozing.

In pretty much the center of this noisy hectic room, I happen to come together at the same time with Jon Stewart, Congressman Jerry Nadler of the 8th district in New York, and Tim Russert.The meeting was brief, but serendipitous. I was introduced to Mr. Russert by Jon Stewart, and it was then I found out he had gone to law school. I was impressed.

Flash forward to 2006, where for my birthday my brother, Paul, buys me a copy of Mr. Russert's book, "Wisdom of Our Fathers". We had lost our own dad two years earlier, and I very much enjoyed the gift. I read the book from cover to cover, laughing sometimes, crying other times. It was a good read.

I will miss Mr. Russert's intelligence and well placed questions each and every Sunday morning on "Meet The Press". It just won't seem like a real presidential political season without him.

My condolences to the Russert family, and especially to his son, Luke.

Countdown to Next Governor

Twitter Updates

Twitter Updates

Subscribe To

Joey Novick

Joey Novick, founder of New Jersey:Politics Unusual, is an attorney, professional stand-up comedian, professional keynote speaker, and a former elected official in NJ. He resides in Flemington, New Jersey, where currently serves as the Chairman of the Flemington Democratic Party. He is developing a one-man show about politics and humor in the Garden State. NJPoliticsUnusual has been recognized by Campaigns & Elections and SNJ Business People. Joey appears monthly on News-12 Power & Politics, sharing his keen insights with NJ's politicians. Contact Joey at joeynovick@earthlink.net.